The Art of Living in the Modern World

Stores

Here's a post-Christmas bargain: the Museum of Modern Art in NYC just reduced the price of gloves based on Frank Lloyd Wright's now-demolished Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Available here in black or blue. Is it too early to start stocking up for next Christmas?

Rob B. sends word that he recently wandered into the Century Studios in St. Paul, MN and was blown away at the wonderful stained glass work that they do. Check out the beautiful craftsmanship of their reproduction Tiffany lamps and other goodies here.

After our recent post about Mike Brown's collection of mid-century architecture post cards, Oklahoma City design instructor Jim Watson paid a visit to Mike's OKC vintage shop. Jim reported back about his enjoyable visit with Mike and the treasure trove of mid-century goodies at Retrokc. If you find yourself in Oklahoma City, be sure to check out this part of midtown, which is undergoing an urban renaissance with many great shops and restaurants (one serves sumptuous-looking grilled cheese sandwiches). And if you can't make it to OKC, a sampling of Mike's goods can be found at his Etsy shop. The vintage fabrics are particularly fetching!

Ephraim Pottery is excited to announce that in addition to their Lake Mills, Wisconsin gallery, they are opening a new store on the West Coast that will feature their limited edition pottery and tile.

The new outlet will be located at 728 Main Street in Cambria, CA. Cambria, known as “one of America’s prettiest towns,” is about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along scenic coastal Highway 1. The new store is scheduled to open in mid June, 2012. Check out Ephraim’s website for more information about their galleries, artists, and pottery.

I recently heard from Arte Moderne, one of my all-time favorite shops for all things Mid-Century Modern. Seems they've gotten a mint collection of Paul McCobb furniture in stock that MCM collectors would drool over. Read more after the jump...

I wandered into this very cool store in Forest Park, IL a couple of weeks ago and was bowled over with the amazing stuff I found. @WorkDesign specializes in hip, Mod and well-designed items for your life and life-at-work. Check out their newly-launched website for more details.

Are you looking for a cool, nature-inspired gift for the holidays? Then check out Botanica, a boutique located in Oak Park, IL that carries an amazing selection of gifts and home decor that help "Bring The Outside In." People on my list might be getting some stuff from here! Check out their website by following the link.

Here's a little economic relief in time for the holidays. Arte Moderne is extending a 25% Holiday discount on the purchase of any Cleminsons pieces to everyone mentioning PrairieMod. Plus, PrairieMod readers will always get a 10% discount on everything else in the store. Just tell them PrairieMod sent you!

The first LegoLand Discovery Center in the United States is set to open in Schaumburg--Practically in our backyard! Woodfield Mall already has a LEGO store, so the addition of this Indoor plastic building block Shangri-La is even more exciting. Find out more by following the link.

The only thing that could make it better? Frank Lloyd Wright LEGO building sets!!!

Room & Board has recently shipped their new seasonal mailer (check out a sneak-peek page at left) and there is some great stuff featured in it! From a vacation home in Steamboat Springs, CO to an apartment in Queens to an artists loft in Santa Ana, CA...R&B customers show off their inspirations and style.

Another really cool feature is the PrairieMod Squad talking about American Design Classics. Yep, we were invited to participate and discuss the ideals that have shaped the best American design movements. We had a blast and the people at R&B are truly first rate!

If you're not on the list to receive the mailer, sign-up here or call 800.301.9720.

Did some shopping yesterday with the wifey and hit up some fresh antique shops in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. I definitely recommend a visit if you're a local.

Patina has a really nice vibe going with their industrial steel carts and primitive harvest tables, mixed with classic Mid-Century chairs. It has a classic, vintage atmosphere that blends country with modern. I was pleasantly surprised with their offering.

Ravenswood Antique Mall has several sweet selections, but one thing that jumped off the shelf at me was a small Heath Ceramics ashtray from the 50's. Even though I don't smoke, I snatched that baby right up!

True to Room & Board's strong commitment to American Craft, they have dedicated a room in each of their 8 nationwide stores that highlight themes speaking to what they have been about for decades. The pieces featured in these rooms are made by Vermont Furniture Design and include a mix of old and new. Three of the lines, Artisan, Prairie and Heartwood are from their archives. These designs are timeless and are so totally relevant today.

I was in Oak Park last week for a business meeting and had a chance to drop by a little shop that had caught my eye. The name is Fly Bird and this place is hip....most definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. The store is stocked with high-design merchandise from company's like Alessi to some real cheeky products by Knock Knock, Inc. In short, I loved this spot!

You can shop their online store (not as good as the real thing), but I recommend a personal visit for the good stuff.

If you are still looking for that perfect holiday gift that also has the perfect Modern aesthetic, then you might want to cruise over to Room & Board's website. In their holiday section titled "Comfort and Joy," you'll find several great gift ideas for all budgets.

For you hipster types, be sure to check out Milwaukee's Design Within Reach on July 27th at 6pm. "The Art of the T-Shirt" is a presentation of the work of Holoubek Studios and Heavy Rotation. Holoubek Studios began
in 1962 when Verne Holoubek began airbrushing custom designs on
garments. In 2002, Brian Holoubek began digging though his father's
iron-on archives from over 40 years in the t-shirt business and selling
the iron-ons. Brian's business evolved into Heavy Rotation, a t-shirt
company producing silk-screened tees with graphics inspired by the
vintage iron-ons as well as new, original artwork.

There will be a live T-shirt screen printing, plus if you bring
$10 you can purchase your own one-of-a-kind tee. Proceeds from the
T-shirt sales will benefit a local children's charity and beverages will
be served as a courtesy of Lakefront Brewery.
No RSVP required.

We got our hands on a a couple of mocked up pages from Room & Board's 48-page fall mailer, which should drop in mid-August. For the mailer, it appears that Room & Board profiles different homes from across the country....hoping to provide design ideas and inspiration for current or potential customers.

On the pages that we have, the Parkers from Marin County, California are profiled. Check out the PDF samples here: Download Room_and_Board.pdf.

People who love all things Stickley, Wright and Arts & Crafts in the Dallas area will be thrilled to know that the amazing looking Aneita Fern store is now open for business. Carrying all sorts of furniture, decorative items and wall art in keeping with the aesthetics of the Arts & Crafts Movement, the store was specially designed to show off its items as well as show off itself. Beautiful woodwork, integral displays and a special treat in the center of the store will knock shopper's socks off. As described in a Dallas Morning Newsarticle:

Showing the
furniture off to its finest advantage is the light at the center of the
showroom, a stained-glass window in the ceiling designed by store
architect Ann Abernathy of Dallas' Booziotis & Company.

"A lay light was used in many of the homes and buildings that Frank
Lloyd Wright designed," Mr. Atchley says. "It's a way of bringing the
outside indoors with light and color, and we wanted one in our store."

The piece, inspired by an upward-looking view on a kayaking trip, was
crafted by Foster Stained Glass of College Station, with glass from the
famous Lamberts factory in Germany.

The overall effect is one that will be sure to keep shoppers coming back for more. If you get a chance, check out the Aneita Fern website for more photos of the store and a glimpse at their furniture and decorative items. Enjoy!

So I'm at the JetBlue Terminal of JFK looking out a window at Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center and I start reflecting on great modern design. Naturally, I was thinking about things at MOMA since I was just there recently. I recalled perusing the Muji Store at MOMA, which I first heard about from Josh Spear during his Brand Utopian lecture.

Muji is a Japanese retail company that sells a variety of household goods. Muji is
distinguished by its design minimalism, emphasis on recycling,
avoidance of waste in production and packaging, and a no-logo policy.
Products range from pens, notebooks, and clothing for men and women to
food items and major kitchen appliances. The name Muji means No Brand Name when loosely translated.

The great thing about this stuff is that it is all designed with guiding principles that provide savvy customers
with products that are beautiful, useful, and essential "objects for
living." It is worth checking out to see what necessities you might be able to get.

No, I don't really need a place to stay and eat. However, I do need to get me some fresh and tasteful modern home accessories for springtime.

We've heard that Room & Board is in the midst of a bedding clearance and it looks like they have some nice choices. I really like the Riga Duvet in Moss, as it would go nicely with my quartersawn oak bed that the blessed Amish folks built me.

Also, for you cutting edge design enthusiasts...Room & Board has a new addition to their line of lighting. The Herman MillerLeaf lamp, which garnered much attention last year on the blogosphere (via), is now available in-store or online at www.roomandboard.com. This lamp has a sleek modern aesthetic and offers a 60,000 hour lifespan and consumes 40 percent less energy than a compact fluorescent bulb. These are some brilliant energy-saving stats.

My personal endorsement: Any of the items you'll find at Room &
Board are an excellent and tasteful choice for anyone living The PrairieMod Lifestyle.

Aneita Fern is super excited to announce the long-awaited opening of their store. They've been hard at work creating an environment that will be both appealing and educational.An official grand opening will be announced later, but the store opens on April 16th. So, if you're in the Dallas area...be the first to experience the new home for Stickley furniture, Frank Lloyd Wright furniture and accessories, and a host of other great merchandise. You can even just stop by to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the inviting showroom.

Toms-Price is THE destination for Stickley lovers in Chicagoland. So, April 14th & 15th, 2007 brings the annual spring warehouse sale to the Bloomingdale Toms-Price location. Prices are 40-70% off the MSRP for furniture, rugs and accessories.

I know from past experience that this sale can be wild, with lines so long....you honestly wouldn't believe it! Also, bring your running shoes and get ready to tussle once the doors are opened. It is all well worth the effort, if you get your hands on that fine piece of Stickley you've been eying all year long. You may not want to camp-out overnight, but just a warning...get there early or else you'll be very sorry.

There's a new furniture store opening this month in Dallas, TX that's taking a different approach to retail furniture. Aneita Fern's mission is to present customers with an educational opportunity to learn about Arts & Crafts furnishings and the greater concept of what Frank Lloyd Wright brought to the 20th Century - the very things still influencing people today. In fact, Aneita Fern wants to be the "Home of Stickley" and THE authority on Frank Lloyd Wright in Dallas.

General Manager, Christopher Walthall said, "Our theory is that most retailers don't really understand how to properly show and integrate Stickley furniture into today's lives. We are using a very different approach so that hopefully we can bring the vision to life". Aneita Fern will also be carrying Copeland's Frank Lloyd Wright Collection® furniture.

You can read Aneita Fern's online newsletter here and sign-up for regular updates here. Also, if you'd like to find out more info regarding the store's namesake, check this link out.Image copyright 2007 Aneita Fern

A couple of weeks back, a copy of the new Room & Board catalog came across my desk. I opened to the first couple of pages and found some great surprises. First, there was a Shaker quote that I believe also showed up in Dwell's Feb 2007 issue...

"Don't make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful."

On the same page as this quote they discuss timeless design, Mid-Century Modernism, Arts & Crafts, Asian design, Charles & Ray Eames, George Nelson, natural materials, eco-friendly materials, etc. This all sounds like the essence of The PrairieMod Lifestyle.

Also from the catalog...

Furniture that fits the way you live. We're respectful of the history of design, but mindful of the demands of your lifestyle. The way we live in our homes is ever changing. Because of this, we believe that furniture should be practical, functional and comfortable, as well as beautiful and durable. It's our goal to always provide you with solutions that fit the way you live-however you live-and furniture that truly allows you to relax in your home.

There are so many other great things about this catalog that you might enjoy as a reader of PrairieMod.com. If you're interested, you can request of copy via this link. You can also peruse some of the fantastic offerings at RoomandBoard.com or stop by one of their 9 locations.

Yesterday, I received an alumni magazine from my Alma Mater in good ole Nashville, Tennessee. I then ended up having a dream about being back in school and hanging out at all my old haunts with friends I haven't seen in years. Regrettably, one place that was never on my list is Highbrow Furniture. Oddly enough, I randomly came across their website today while looking for something completely different. Nash Vegas seems to be calling me back, away from my Sweet Home Chicago.

I am ashamed to admit that I've never been to, seen, nor heard of Highbrow Furniture during the 6 years I lived in Tennessee. Especially, since I had a apartment a few blocks away. From what I've read online, this fine retailer specializes in mid-century furniture and is an authorized dealer for Herman Miller. Two handy aspects to their website are the Under $300 list and the Most Popular list.

After my previous report on my Prairie Avenue Bookshop themed day, one of our readers suggested that I check out the Santa Monica version of the P.A.B. The shop, called Hennessey + Ingalls, is billed as the largest art and architecture bookshop on the West coast. According to their website:

We maintain especially strong and in-depth selections of books in art and art history, all phases of architecture, photography, interior design, graphic design, and landscaping. The broadness of our collections and the knowledge of our staff have Hennessey + Ingalls an important stop for art directors in film, television, and advertising.

Sounds right up my alley! I checked them out and they completely exceeded my expectations! A glorious selection of books on all the topics listed above (I even found a few gems on some of my favorite organic architects.) One bit of trivia is that the "Ingalls" of Hennessey + Ingalls was the son of J. Kibben Ingalls who commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build him a house in River Forrest, IL.

If you're in the L.A. area and need your art and architectural book fix, I highly recommend a trip to Hennessey + Ingalls, it won't disappoint!

While on a trip to Arizona last week, we stumbled onto a boutique store with tons of cool, modern decorative items, books, furniture--the works! Haus Modern Living is a company with two store locations in the Phoenix area that caters to the hip Modern décor lover. The store was an oasis of Modern coolness in the desert, with enough stuff to fill a Case Study House. One of the PrairieMod Squad members decided to pick up a sweet book called Living Modern: Bringing Modernism Home to add to the library. If you're in the Scottsdale area anytime in the near future, make sure you make a Haus call.

One of my most favorite places to visit and recharge my creative batteries is a store called The Paper Source. The one closest to me is in Oak Park, IL, but they have locations across the country (and a very well designed and extensive website as well). I'll usually go in there an cruise around, soaking up all of the amazing colors, patterns and textures that their wide array of specialty paper, envelopes, photo albums, and other miscellaneous items has to offer. They always have really cool, creative window displays and the people working there are very hip and helpful as well. Many of the locations also offer a variety of workshops that allow participants to make their own books, cards, invitations, etc. definitely appealing to the Arts and Crafts side of me. Check out their website to see if they have a location near you and tell 'em PrairieMod sent you!

West Elm has emerged as the Pottery Barn for the shopper with more Modern tastes. I wandered into the store in Oakbrook, IL this past weekend to see what was new and interesting. I was surprised at the amount of natural materials (such as dried plants, woven textiles, and wooden decorative items) for sale. There was also a lot of nice pottery, linens and accents with interesting textures and geometric designs that looked like they would fit right into a PrairieMod home. Some interesting items that can be found on their website include:

One particular piece of furniture caught my eye. It was an upholstered club chair whose shape bore a striking Modern resemblance to a chair designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his octagonal library at the Oak Park Home and Studio. Check out the side by side comparison:Even more interesting was the fact that next to the chair on a side table was a copy of "Frank Lloyd Wright: Inside and Out." Coincidence? Probably, but it's still fun. Who knew a simple weekend outing would mean bumping into a melding of Modern design and Frank Lloyd Wright ideas! Images courtesy of West Elm and the FLWPT

Being a beautiful summer day in Chicago, the PrairieMod squad decided to take a field trip to check out a new store we had recently heard about. Located in up-and-coming West Town, Sprout Home is a hip store that is filled with cool and interesting items for your home and garden. As they state on their website:

Sprout Home believes that a modern aesthetic can live in the home and also the garden. We work with numerous designers, based in Chicago and abroad, to bring home products that will excite and enliven your enivironment.

We were very impressed with the wide variety of products that instantly fit the PrairieMod aesthetic (so much so, we bought some sweet coasters for our office.) The next time your in that area of Chi-town, check them out.